Man found guilty of punching officer, pleads as habitual felon

GRAHAM — A Gibsonville man was found guilty Monday of assaulting an officer and then pleaded guilty to being a habitual felon.

He was sentenced to several years in prison.

Wesley David Carden, 44, of Broad Street, Gibsonville, was charged Jan. 7, 2012 with a number of offenses, including assaulting and injuring two Burlington police officers and resisting arrest. The officers had responded to a domestic dispute call. Most of the charges — financial card theft, financial card fraud, and two counts of assault on a female — were dismissed before they reached the jury.

Carden’s trial began May 6. Jurors began deliberating Thursday.

Jurors found Carden guilty of assault inflicting injury on a law enforcement officer for punching Burlington officer Brad Mills twice in the face and head, injuring his left eye. They also found him guilty of resisting an officer.

They found him not guilty of assaulting Burlington police officer C.M. Leight.

Following the verdict, Carden pleaded to attaining habitual felon status.

A release from the district attorney’s office said Carden had more than 15 felony convictions on his record dating back to 1987, including several breakings and enterings. His last conviction was for felony larceny and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2006.

During the hearing, Carden apologized for hurting Mills and said the incident was a mistake; that otherwise, he’d turned his life around since his last criminal conviction.

Following brief arguments by Alamance County Assistant District Attorney Meredith Edwards and defense attorney David Remington, Superior Court James E. Hardin Jr. sentenced him as a level five offender under state sentencing laws.

Hardin issued a 35- to 54-month sentence with credit for time served. Carden will receive a mental health evaluation while in prison.